Wisconsin Man Files FDCPA Lawsuit over Vehicle Repossession

A Wisconsin resident recently filed an FDCPA lawsuit against Capital One, alleging that he was unlawfully hit with vehicle repossession by the banking giant.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiff, Robert J., had financed a vehicle with Capital One, but in 2018 fell behind on his payments. He says that instead of repossessing the vehicle themselves, Capital One hired Select Recovery Agents (also named in the lawsuit) to perform the task for them, a process known as “self-help” vehicle repossession under Wisconsin law. He alleges that self-help vehicle repossession has some restrictions, including the responsibility to avoid “breaching the peace.”

However, Robert says that on Aug. 26, 2018, while Robert was sitting in his car (in a relative’s driveway, not his own), an employee of SRA blocked him in the driveway with their own vehicle, demanding that he allow them to repossess his car. When Robert refused, the agent allegesly continued the attempt at vehicle repossession, threatening to call the police—and then actually did so, Robert says. When the police arrived, the officer spoke to the SRA agent, and Robert was allowed to leave—with his vehicle.

Robert has since turned to litigation, alleging that SRA engaged in a “breach of peace,” or attempting to continue with a vehicle repossession after the consumer has verbally protested. Plus, since Capital One hired SRA in the first place, Robert is holding Capital One liable vicariously for the hired party’s actions.

Robert filed his FDCPA vehicle repossession lawsuit on Aug. 28, 2018 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. The vehicle repossession lawsuit was filed on multiple counts, including violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Wisconsin Consumer Act.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a set of debt collection laws meant to help protect consumers from being taken advantage of, harassed, or threatened by a debt collection agency. The FDCPA was first enacted by Congress in 1978.

In recent years, collection agencies have become more and more aggressive, and many of these companies may work for major banks, credit card companies, and student loan companies, as well as debt buyers. In some cases, the companies may use illegal debt collection practices to collect on what’s owed them—or even an invalid or previously discharged debt. Indeed, millions of Americans may have been targeted with illegal and abusive debt collection practices, but most are not armed with the information necessary to know there are laws in place protecting them from such abuses.

Laws at both the federal and state level protect Americans from abusive debt collection practices. Debt collectors are not allowed to send confusing collection letters, make threats, harass, add fees, make robocalls, or communicate with third parties about a debt, among others.

Under the FDCPA, if a debt collector is found to have violated these regulations, the consumer may be entitled to statutory damages of $1,000, plus any actual or emotional damages.

Filing an FDCPA Lawsuit

If you have suffered from abusive debt collection practices like confusing letters, harassment, or others, or if you have been targeted with unfair vehicle repossession, you may be able to file a lawsuit under federal and/or state debt collection laws.

The FDCPA Vehicle Repossession Lawsuit is Case No. 3:18-cv-00717-slc, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin.

Join a Free Unfair Collection Practices Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you’ve been hit with unfair debt collection practices, you may have a legal claim and could be owed compensation for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

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DISCLAIMER: Debt collection itself is not illegal. However, debt collection firms collecting on consumer debts must adhere to the FDCPA. Even though debt attorneys are investigating these companies, their debt collection practices may be legal.